Methods and apparatus for checking emitter bonds in an irrigation drip line

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus for checking emitter bonds in an irrigation drip line and for manufacturing drip line in a manner that allows the bond between the in-line emitter and surrounding conduit to be checked. In one form, a downstream in-line vacuum tester is provided for monitoring the amount of air escaping from outlet openings in the drip line to detect excessive air associated with poorly bonded emitters.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of prior U.S. application Ser. No.14/851,545, filed Sep. 11, 2015, which claims the benefit of similarlytitled U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/049,327, filed Sep. 11, 2014,which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD

The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for checkingemitter bonds in an irrigation drip line, and more particularly, tomethods and apparatus for manufacturing drip line in a manner thatallows the bond between the in-line emitter and surrounding tubing to bechecked.

BACKGROUND

Irrigation drip emitters are commonly used in irrigation systems toconvert fluid flowing through a supply tube or drip line at a relativelyhigh flow rate to a relatively low flow rate at the outlet of eachemitter. Such emitters are typically used in landscaping (bothresidential and commercial) to water and/or treat (e.g., fertilize)trees, shrubs, flowers, grass and other vegetation, and in agriculturalapplications to water and/or treat crops. Typically, multiple dripemitters are positioned on the inside or outside of a water supply lineor tube at predetermined intervals to distribute water and/or otherfluids at precise points to surrounding land and vegetation. The emitternormally includes a pressure reducing passageway, such as a zigzaglabyrinth or passage, which reduces high pressure fluid entering thedrip emitter into relatively low-pressure fluid exiting the dripemitter. Generally, such drip emitters are formed in one of three commonmanners: (1) separate structures connected to a supply tube eitherinternally (i.e., in-line emitters) or externally (i.e., on-lineemitters or branch emitters); (2) drip strips or tape either connectedto an inner surface of a supply tube or in-between ends of a material toform a generally round supply tube or conduit; and (3) stamped into asurface of a material that is then folded over upon itself or thatoverlaps itself to form a drip line with an enclosed emitter.

With respect to the first type of common drip emitter, the emitter isconstructed of a separate housing that is attached to the drip line. Thehousing is normally a multi-piece structure that when assembled definesthe pressure reducing flow path that the fluid travels through to reduceits pressure. Some examples of in-line emitters that are bonded to aninner surface of the supply line or tube are illustrated in U.S. Pat.No. 7,648,085 issued Jan. 19, 2010 and U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2010/0282873, published Nov. 11, 2010, and some examplesof on-line emitters which are connected to an exterior surface of thesupply line or tube (usually by way of puncture via a barbed end) areillustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,029 issued Oct. 13, 1998. Someadvantages to in-line emitters are that the emitter units are lesssusceptible to being knocked loose from the fluid carrying conduit andthe conduit can be buried underground if desired (i.e., subsurfaceemitters) which further makes it difficult for the emitter to beinadvertently damaged (e.g., by way of being hit or kicked by a person,hit by a lawnmower or trimmer, etc.).

With respect to the second type of emitter, (i.e., drip strips or tape),the emitter is typically formed at predetermined intervals along a longstretch of material which is either bonded to the inner surface of thesupply line or connected between ends of a material to form a generallyround conduit or supply line with the strip or tape running thelongitudinal length of the conduit. Some examples of drip strips or tapetype emitters are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,520 issued Feb. 23,1988.

With respect to the third type of emitter, (i.e., folded or overlappingtube emitters), the emitter is typically formed by stamping a pressurereducing flow path on one surface of a tube making material at or nearan end thereof which is then folded back over on itself or which iswrapped such that the opposite end of the tube making material overlapsthe end with the stamped flow path to form an enclosed pressure-reducingpassageway. Some examples of folded or overlapping tube emitters areillustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,520 issued Feb. 23, 1988, andInternational Patent Application Publication No. WO 00/01219 publishedJan. 13, 2000.

In addition, many if not all of the above-mentioned emitters can bemanufactured with a pressure compensating mechanism that allows theemitters to adjust or compensate for fluctuations in the fluid pressurewithin the supply line. For example, some of the above emitters includeseparate elastomeric diaphragms which are positioned adjacent thepressure reducing passageway and help reduce the cross-section of thepassageway when an increase in supply line fluid pressure occurs andincrease the cross-section of the passageway when a decrease in thesupply line fluid pressure occurs.

While each of these forms of emitters has its own advantage, they eachrequire either multiple pieces to be assembled, aligned and carefullybonded to the supply line or intricate stamping and folding oroverlapping to be performed in order to manufacture the emitter andensure that the emitter operates as desired. Thus, these emitters oftenrequire more time and care to assemble which needlessly can slow downthe production of the drip line and/or emitter and can increase the costof the drip line and/or emitter as well. Thus, there is a need for asimpler emitter construction that can be manufactured faster and usingfewer parts and without wasting as much time, energy and materialsrelated to aligning and assembling multiple parts of the emitter and/orfolding or overlapping materials.

In addition, some of the above-mentioned emitters introduce structures(sometimes even the entire emitter body) into the main lumen of thesupply line or tube which can cause turbulence and result in lateremitters or emitters further downstream not working as well orefficiently as earlier emitters or upstream emitters. For example, insome of the non-pressure compensated emitters the introduction of toomuch turbulence from emitter structures located upstream can reduce thepressure of the fluid further downstream and result in the downstreamemitters trickling water at a different flow rate than upstreamemitters. This is not normally desirable as in most applications itwould be desirable that the emitters of the drip line saturate theirrespective surrounding area at a common flow rate rather than having oneportion of the drip line saturate one area more than another portion ofthe drip line saturates another area.

In other in-line emitters, large cylindrical structures are used whichinterfere with the flow of the fluid traveling through the drip line ortube and introduce more turbulence to the fluid or system due to thefact they cover and extend inward from the entire inner surface of thedrip line or tube. The increased mass of the cylindrical unit and thefact it extends about the entire inner surface of the drip line or tubealso increases the likelihood that the emitter will get clogged withgrit or other particulates (which are more typically present at the wallportion of the tube or line than in the middle of the tube or line)and/or that the emitter itself will form a surface upon which grit orparticulates can build-up on inside the drip line and slow the flow offluid through the drip line or reduce the efficiency of the fluidflowing there through. Thus, there is also a need to reduce the size ofin-line emitters and improve the efficiency of the systems within whichthese items are mounted.

New forms of emitters have been designed to overcome many of theseproblems and are disclosed in U.S. Published Patent Application No.2013/0248616, published Sep. 26, 2013 and International PatentApplication Publication No. WO 2013/148672, published Oct. 3, 2013.These emitters are made of a elastomeric body that integrally defines aninlet for receiving pressurized fluid from a fluid supply source, anoutlet area for discharging the fluid from the elastomeric emitter body,a pressure reducing flow path extending between the inlet and the outletfor reducing the pressure and flow of fluid received at the inlet anddischarged through the outlet area, and a pressure compensating portionfor automatically adjusting the pressure and flow reducing effect of theflow channel in response to a change in pressure of the fluid supplysource. While such an emitter overcomes the problems discussed above,the elastomeric material that makes-up the emitter can make it difficultto transport and insert the emitter into drip line or tubing usingconventional insertion equipment due to the higher coefficient offriction that exists between the elastomeric material and the insertionequipment or tooling used to insert the emitter body into drip linetubing.

In addition to the above, it is difficult to confirm the sufficiency orintegrity of the bond made between in-line emitters and the surroundingtubing within which they are mounted using conventional manufacturingprocesses. This is due primarily to the fact this bond is made blindlywithin the main lumen of the conduit and, thus, cannot be easilyinspected. Another complicating factor is the speed at which it isdesired to manufacture such drip line or tubing (e.g., typically it isdesirable to manufacture such drip line at speeds well over 100feet/minute).

If a sufficient bond is not made between the in-line emitters and thesurrounding tubing, the emitters will likely not work as intended. Forexample, emitters that have a poor bond to the surrounding tubing willtypically drip fluid at a faster rate than nearby emitters that have abetter bond with the surrounding tubing. In some instances, emitterswith poor bonds will also fail to compensate for fluctuations in fluidpressure within the surrounding tubing or drip line as well as theirwell bonded counterparts. The result of either of these situations isthat the surrounding area of one emitter may get more fluid than thesurrounding area of another emitter, which at a minimum is not desiredand, in some instances, can even cause damage to the vegetation (e.g.,plants, crops, landscaping, etc.) of the surrounding area.

Accordingly, it has been determined that a need exists for new methodsand apparatus for checking emitter bonds in an irrigation drip line, andmore particularly, new methods and apparatus for manufacturing drip linein a manner that allows the bond between the in-line emitter andsurrounding tubing to be checked, and to form an irrigation assembly orsystem that overcome the aforementioned limitations and which furtherprovide capabilities, features and functions, not available in currentmethods and apparatus relating to the manufacture of drip lines oremitters.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of severalembodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from thefollowing more particular description thereof, presented in conjunctionwith the following drawings.

FIGS. 1A-B are perspective views of an apparatus for transporting orinserting elastomeric emitters and/or manufacturing drip line using suchelastomeric emitters embodying features of the present invention,illustrating the apparatus from left and right sides, respectively;

FIGS. 1C-G are left side elevation, right side elevation, top plan,front end and rear end elevation views, respectively, of the apparatusof FIGS. 1A-B, illustrating various components of the apparatus;

FIGS. 2A-B are partial left side elevation views of the apparatus ofFIGS. 1A-G illustrating the emitter insertion tooling engaged with anddisengaged or retracted from an extrusion die head, respectively;

FIGS. 3A-B are partial perspective and side elevation views,respectfully, of the conveyor system of FIGS. 1A-G;

FIG. 4 is a partial top plan view of an alternate slotted belt conveyorsystem embodying features of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-section of an alternate belt conveyor systemembodying features of the present invention illustrating the conveyorfrom a side elevation view;

FIG. 6 is a partial top plan view of the escapement of FIGS. 1A-Gillustrating a tapered belt system that accommodates for misalignedemitters and/or assists in aligning the emitter before driving same intoa guide bar;

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-section of an alternate escapement drivesystem embodying features of the present invention, illustrating thedrive system from a top plan view but in cross section so that the stargear that rests below a cover member is visible;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the guide bar of FIGS. 1A-G illustratinga brake or brake mechanism that may be used to assist in controllingmovement of emitters through the insertion tooling and, specifically,the guide bar;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the guide bar of FIGS. 1A-G connected toa vibratory drive assembly to assist with transporting elastomericemitters through the guide bar and inserting same into drip line tubing;

FIGS. 10A-B are partial cross-section views of the guide bar of FIGS.1A-G taken along line 10-10 in FIG. 1C illustrating an optional coolantsystem that may be used in conjunction with the guide bar, with FIG. 10Bbeing an enlarged view of the distal end of the guide bar assembly;

FIG. 11 is a cross section taken along lines 11-11 in FIG. 1Eillustrating a guide bar assembly engaged with a extruder die headembodying features of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the roller tipped guide bar of FIGS.1A-G;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an alternate insert tipped guide barembodying features of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a tractor assembly wheel aligned withthe insert tipped guide bar of FIG. 13 and embodying features of thepresent invention;

FIG. 15 is a cross section taken along lines 15-15 in FIG. 1Eillustrating the tractor assembly wheel aligned with the roller tippedguide bar of FIGS. 1A-G and showing how the radius of contour does notextend beyond the width of the emitter to eliminate lines from beingformed by outside edges of the tractor wheel on the exterior of theextruded tube surface;

FIGS. 16A-B are cross-sections taken along line 16-16 in FIG. 1Eillustrating, respectively, the insertion tooling when it is in thefirst position wherein the insertion tooling is engaged with an extruderand the second position wherein the insertion tooling is removed orretracted from the extruder emitter;

FIGS. 17A-B are perspective views of another insertion tool inaccordance with the present invention illustrating a system having firstand second conveyors for delivering emitters to the escapement, withFIG. 17B being an enlarged view of the second conveyor and secondvibratory drive associated with same;

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary manufacturingprocess in accordance with the invention in which the bond betweenemitters and the surrounding tubing can be checked to ensure properperformance of the emitters and drip line; and

FIGS. 19A-H are left front perspective, right front perspective, frontelevation, cross-sectional, rear elevation, top plan, right sideelevation and left side elevation views, respectively, of an in-linevacuum tester for checking the bond between emitters and the surroundingtubing during the manufacture of drip line, the cross-sectional view ofFIG. 19D being taken along line 19D-19D in FIG. 19F.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding componentsthroughout the several views of the drawings. Skilled artisans willappreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicityand clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example,the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggeratedrelative to other elements to help to improve understanding of variousembodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understoodelements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasibleembodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a lessobstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIGS. 1A-G, an apparatus for transporting or insertingelastomeric emitters and/or manufacturing drip line using elastomericemitters is illustrated and referenced generally by reference numeral100. The apparatus 100 includes a dispensing container or feeder, suchas vibratory bowl 110, a conveyor 120, an emitter drive mechanism, suchas escapement 130, an inserter or guide 140 and a bonding machine, suchas tractor assembly 150. This insertion tooling 100 may be used inconjunction with other tubing manufacturing components, such as extruder160 and water tank 170 to produce drip line tubing 190 for use inirrigation applications. In the form illustrated, the apparatus 100 issetup to insert flat elastomeric emitters into tubing to form irrigationdrip line.

Examples of flat elastomeric emitters that may be used in conjunctionwith apparatus 100 are illustrated in U.S. Published Patent ApplicationNo. 2013/0248616, published Sep. 26, 2013, and International PatentApplication Publication No. WO 2013/148672, published Oct. 3, 2013, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety. It should be understood, however, that in alternateembodiments, the apparatus 100 may be used to insert other types ofemitters. For example, other types of elastomeric emitters (e.g., roundor cylindrical emitters, tape emitters, etc.). In other examples, thisapparatus 100 may be used to insert emitters that are not entirely madeof elastomeric material (e.g., hybrid emitters made of rigid polymersand elastomeric materials) or even emitters that do not have anyelastomeric material (e.g., purely rigid polymer structures), ifdesired. A system for manufacturing drip line is disclosed in U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/894,296, filed Oct. 22, 2013,which is also incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In the form illustrated in FIGS. 1A-G, the apparatus is shown using adispensing container or feeder, such as centrifugal bowl feeder 110,which is generally cylindrical in shape and is capable of holding orstoring large quantities of emitters and consistently feeding such partsto conveyor 120 in a predetermined orientation. In a preferred form, thebowl feeder 110 orientates the emitters in the same direction viavibration and gravity and, preferably, with the emitter inlet beingpositioned forward or in the front when looking in the direction oftravel for the emitter (or downstream) and the outlet positionedrearward. In addition, the feeder 110 will preferably include opticalsensors and a controller which are used to monitor and control,respectively, the number of emitters being fed by the bowl feeder 110onto conveyor 120. This allows the bowl feeder 110 to be used separateand apart from the other components of apparatus 100, (e.g., conveyer120, escapement 130, guide bar 140), to control the flow of emittersthrough the system or apparatus. Thus, if more emitters are needed onthe conveyor 120, the bowl feeder 110 can speed-up to increase thenumber of emitters provided to the conveyor 120. Conversely, if a pileupor logjam starts to occur downstream (e.g., where the emitters areplaced onto the conveyor 120, where the emitters transition fromconveyor 120 to escapement 130, or from the escapement 130 to the guidebar 140), the bowl feeder 110 can be shut down or slowed until theproblem is resolved.

In a preferred form, the bowl feeder 110 will also have an access panelor door that allows for rapid removal of any remaining product in thebowl feeder 110 so that the apparatus 100 may be changed over totransport and/or manufacture drip line using emitters of a differenttype (e.g., emitters with different drip rates, emitters with differentconfigurations, such as round or cylindrical emitters, emitters made ofdifferent materials such as rigid polymers, etc.). The vibratory natureof bowl feeder 110 helps reduce the friction between the elastomericemitters and the insertion tooling 100 and keep the elastomeric emittersmoving through the system 100 despite the increased coefficient offriction that normally exists between the elastomeric material of theemitter and the surfaces of the insertion tooling that the elastomericmaterial comes into contact with during operation of the insertiontooling 100. As mentioned above, the vibration of feeder 110 is alsoused to help place the emitters into a desired orientation.

In addition, the bowl feeder 110 may further include a lubricant appliedto the surfaces of the bowl feeder 110 that the emitters will contact,such as a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene likepolytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) (e.g., TEFLON brand lubricants producedby DuPont Co.). Thus, the PTFE coated surfaces reduce the frictionbetween the elastomeric emitters and the feeder 110 so that the emittersmove more easily through the feeder 110 and the feeder track or armchannel 110 a that delivers the emitters to conveyor 120. In a preferredform, feeder 110 is a vibratory feeder that vibrates the emitters into aproperly orientated line of emitters that can be fed onto conveyor 120.Vibratory emitters can be set to a frequency that will position the bulkproduct being fed by the feeder into a desired orientation and a singlefile line if desired.

In the form illustrated in FIGS. 1A-G, a pneumatic conveyor, such as anair conveyor, is used for conveyor 120 in order to further reduce theeffects of the increased coefficient of friction that would normallyexist between the elastomeric material of the emitters and the insertiontooling surfaces the elastomeric material comes into contact with duringoperation of the tooling 100. The air that passes through the airconveyor at least partially levitates (if not fully levitates) theemitter to reduce friction between the emitter and its surroundingenvironment. Generally constant back pressure is applied to the entiresystem (e.g., conveyor 120 and feeder 110) to keep the emitters movingthrough the conveyor 120 and toward the escapement 130. In a preferredform, forward facing air jets will be mounted at various intervalsthrough the conveyor to keep the emitters moving in a desired directionand at a desired pace.

As may best be seen in FIGS. 2A-3B, the conveyor 120 is movable betweena first position wherein the insertion tooling is inserted into orengaged with the extruder 170 (FIG. 2A) so that the insertion toolingcan be used to insert emitters into drip line tubing 190 as it isextruded, and a second position wherein the insertion tooling isretracted or disengaged from the extruder 170 (FIG. 2B) so that theextruder can produce tubing without inserted emitters. In the formillustrated, the conveyor 120 helps accomplish this by being moveablymounted to the surrounding work surface, which in this case is a table112 but in alternate forms could be other work surfaces such as a shopfloor, etc. In a preferred form, the table has a rail 114 to which postsor stanchions 122 are moveably connected on one end and that areconnected on the opposite end to portions of conveyor 110. In FIGS.1A-G, the stanchions 122 are spaced along the conveyor 120 to ensuresufficient support for the conveyor 120 and rest on slides 122 a thatmove along the rail 114 as the conveyor 120 moves between the first andsecond positions. Longer conveyor runs may require additional stanchionsand, conversely, fewer stanchions may be required for shorter runs. Inthe form illustrated, the system 100 includes a fixed stanchion orsupport 124 on a distal end of the conveyor 120 that the conveyor 120moves with respect to when moved between the first and second positions.The feeder arm or channel 110 a of vibratory feeder bowl 110 alsoremains stationary while the conveyor is moved between the first andsecond positions. In the form illustrated, the feeder arm and shuttlecover are positioned in a top-loading position above the conveyor 120 inorder to allow for the conveyor movement between the first and secondpositions.

It should be understood, that in alternate embodiments the moveableconnection between the conveyor 120 and table 112 may be achieved viaalternate types of moveable connection. For example, instead ofconnecting the conveyor stanchions 122 to a rail 114, the stanchionscould connect to a channel connected to the table 112 (e.g., recessed ina surface of table 112, extending up from a surface of table 112, etc.).In yet other forms, the stanchions 122 may be mounted on one or morewheels to allow for movement of the conveyor 120 between the first andsecond positions. In still other forms, the stanchions 122 may be fixedwith respect to the table and the conveyor 120 may be designed to movewith respect to the opposite end of the stanchion 122 (e.g., theconveyor-end of the stanchions may be equipped with rollers, a rail,etc.).

Movement of the conveyor 120 may be motorized if desired. For example,motor 126 may be used to drive the conveyor back and forth along therail 114 between the conveyor's first and second positions. In suchinstances, the motor 126 may be equipped to provide fine and coarseadjustments so that the majority of travel of the conveyor 120 to andfrom the second position can be handled at a faster pace, while theportion of travel to and from the first position can be handled at aslower pace that allows for fine adjustment of the guide bar 140 beinginserted into the extruder 160. In alternate embodiments wherein a moretraditional belt or roller conveyor system is used, motor 126 may beused for moving the belt and/or rollers and may be connected to rail 114to simply assist with sliding the conveyor between the first and secondpositions. In still other forms, the motor 126 may be used to do both(i.e., moving the conveyor 120 and a belt or roller of the conveyor,etc.).

In the form illustrated, the conveyor 120 is capable of being connectedto a shop air system to utilize compressed air that is available on siteand therefore not requiring an additional air compressor or tank. Inalternate embodiments, however, system 100 may further include aseparate air compressor and air tank to allow for operation of the airconveyor. These additional components could be mounted to the rail 114to allow for movement of the components along with the conveyor as itmoves between the first and second positions. Alternatively, thesecomponents could be placed in a static position (e.g., along, on orunder table 112) and simply be connected to the conveyor 120 in such away as to allow for conveyor movement between the first and secondpositions (e.g., via flexible air or pneumatic lines that have enoughslack for accommodating conveyor movement, etc.).

The conveyor depicted in FIGS. 1A-G further shows a generally horizontalconveyor 120, however, it should be understood that in alternateembodiments an angled conveyor may be positioned. For example, theconveyor 120 may be configured to utilize gravity to help move theemitters from the vibratory bowl 110 to the escapement 130. Thus, thevibratory bowl end of the conveyor may be positioned higher than theescapement end of the conveyor, which may also require the vibratorybowl to be positioned higher with respect to the remainder of theinsertion tooling components.

While an air conveyor has been described for conveyor 120, it should beappreciated that in alternate embodiments different types of conveyorsmay be used in connection with insertion tooling 100. For example, inFIG. 4 an alternate slotted belt conveyor is illustrated. Forconvenience, features of this embodiment that are similar with thosediscussed above will use the same latter two-digit reference numeral butinclude the prefix “2” merely to distinguish one embodiment from theother. Thus, in FIG. 4 the conveyor is referenced by reference numeral220 and the escapement by reference numeral 230. In this embodiment, theconveyor 220 includes a belt 221 that carries the emitters 280 from thevibratory feeder bowl 210 to the escapement 230. In this embodiment, thebelt 221 defines a recess, such as slot 221 a, for receiving the inletprotrusion of emitter 280 so that the emitter rests generally flush onthe upper surface of the belt 221.

In lieu of belt 221, a roller conveyor could alternatively be used (see,e.g., FIGS. 17A-B). In a preferred form, the rollers of the rollerconveyor will similarly include or define a slot or recess within whichthe inlet protrusion of emitter 280 may be disposed to allow the emitterto rest generally flush on the uppermost surface of the rollers. Theslot may be defined by a notch in rollers that otherwise run the widthof the conveyor 230, or alternatively, separate arrays of rollers may bepositioned parallel to one another but spaced sufficiently apart fromone another to create a slot, such as a gap or opening between therollers, within which the inlet protrusion of emitter 280 can bedisposed so that the emitter rests generally flush on the uppermostsurface of the rollers. In a preferred form, such a roller conveyorsystem would include some rollers that are motor driven to maintain theability to drive emitters down the conveyor and/or the ability tocontrol how the emitters are driven down the conveyor so that theconveyor remains separately controllable from the bowl feeder and theescapement. In addition, the roller conveyor system would be angleddownward so that the bowl inserter end of the conveyor is positionedhigher than the escapement end of the conveyor to utilize the effects ofgravity to assist in moving the emitters down the conveyor.Alternatively, the roller conveyor may include a vibratory drive fordriving emitters along the roller conveyor (see, e.g., FIGS. 17A-B).

In yet other embodiments, a plain belt conveyor may be used such as thatdepicted in FIG. 5. In keeping with the above practice, items in thisfigure that are similar to those discussed above will be referencedusing the same latter two-digit reference numeral, but having the prefix“3” to distinguish one embodiment from others. Thus, in FIG. 5, theconveyor is referenced generally by reference numeral 320 and theescapement is referenced by reference numeral 330. In this embodiment, aconventional flat conveyor belt is illustrated which causes the emitters380 to sit-up or rest on their respective inlet protrusions 380 a. Asthe emitters approach the escapement 330, the curvature of the beltlowers the emitter 380 so that each emitter 380 aligns with the channeldefined by the escapement 330 and, in particular, the conveyor bridge328 located between the curved end of conveyor 320 and escapement 330.In a preferred form, the conveyor bridge 328 defines a channel with aT-shaped cross-section that aligns the emitter 380 with a similarlyshaped channel defined by escapement 330, with the vertical portion ofthe T-shaped channel accommodating the inlet protrusion 380 a of emitter380. The channel defined by the conveyor bridge 328 may further betapered or bell-mouthed at its opening on the conveyor side of theconveyor bridge 328 in order to account for emitters 380 that areslightly askew or out of alignment so that the emitters 380 transitionfrom the conveyor 320 to the escapement 330 with ease. In the formillustrated, this tapering or bell mouthing accounts for vertical andhorizontal misalignment of the emitters 380 and positions the emitters380 so that the lower shoulders of the T-shaped channel support thelower side surfaces of the emitters 380 and position the emitters 380 tobe grabbed and driven by the escapement 330.

Any of the conveyors used in connection with apparatus 100 may utilizevibration to assist with transporting the elastomeric emitters from oneend of the conveyor 120 (e.g., the vibratory bowl end) to the other endof the conveyor 120 (e.g., the escapement end). For example, in the formillustrated in FIGS. 1A-B, an electromagnetic vibrator may be coupled tothe conveyor bridge 128 or conveyor 120 near the conveyor bridge 128and/or escapement 130 in order to reduce the friction between theelastomeric emitter and the insertion tooling to continue to move theemitters from the conveyor 120 to the escapement 130 without problem. Inaddition, any of the conveyors discussed herein could be setup so thatthe conveyor can continue to run even when emitters are stackedend-to-end waiting to enter the conveyor bridge or escapement 130. Forexample, with the slotted conveyor belt of FIG. 4, the belt may beconfigured to allow for the belt to slip under the emitter or emittersonce a series of emitters are aligned end-to-end entering the escapement130. This allows system 100 to stack several emitters in a single fileline on the conveyor 120 ready to enter escapement 130 and, eventually,guide bar 140. In still other forms, a chute may be used in place of aconveyor that either uses angles and gravity or vibration to move theemitters from feeder 110 to escapement 130. For example, a non-movingconveyor may advance emitters via vibration only if desired.

Another embodiment of insertion tooling 100 is illustrated in FIGS.17A-B, which utilizes more than one type of conveyor to advance emittersfrom the feeder to the escapement. In keeping with the above practice,items of FIGS. 17A-B which are similar to those discussed elsewhere inthe application will be referenced using the same latter two-digitreference numeral, but using the prefix “6” to distinguish oneembodiment from others. Thus, in FIGS. 17A-B, the insertion tooling isreferred to generally using reference numeral 600 and includes avibratory bowl feeder (not shown), a conveyor 620, emitter drivemechanism 630, and inserter 640. The vibratory bowl feeder depositsemitters 680 onto a first conveyor, such as belt conveyor 620 a, whichin turn delivers the emitters 680 to a second conveyor, such as rollerconveyor 620 b. The roller conveyor 620 b defines a channel betweenrollers within which the emitter inlet protrusion is disposed and alignsthe emitters to transition from the roller conveyor 620 b to the emitterdrive mechanism 630.

In addition, system 600 illustrated in FIGS. 17A-B includes astimulator, such as electric vibratory drive 629, which urges emitters680 to travel from the belt conveyor end of roller conveyor 620 b towardthe emitter drive mechanism 630. The vibratory drive 629 gently vibratesthe roller conveyor 620 b at a high frequency to at least partiallylevitate or lift the emitters 680 within emitter channel 142 and reducethe amount of friction present between the elastomeric emitters 680 andthe roller conveyor 620 b which, in turn, makes it easier to move theelastomeric emitters through the conveyor 620 b. In the formillustrated, the vibratory drive 629 is connected to the same base 636as the emitter drive mechanism 630 and inserter 640 so that the conveyor620 b and vibratory drive 629 remain moveable between the first andsecond positions along with the belt conveyor 620 a of conveyor assembly620. As mentioned above, in the first position the conveyor 620 (e.g.,both first and second conveyor members 620 a, 620 b), emitter drivemechanism 630 and inserter 640 are positioned to allow the inserter 640to be inserted or engaged with the extruder 660 so that emitters 680 canbe bonded to extruded tubing via bonding mechanism 650 to form drip line690 and in the second position the conveyor 620, emitter drive mechanism630 and inserter 640 are moved to a second/different position so thatinserter 640 is removed or retracted from the extruder 660. In apreferred form, the vibratory drive 629 is not operable as the guide bar640 is moved toward the first position and inserted through the extruderdie head 662, however, the vibratory drive 629 would be setup such thateven if it were operational during movement of the guide bar 640 towardthe first position the vibration induced in the inserter or guide bar640 would not be sufficient to risk damaging the guide bar 640 on theextruder 660 or vice versa.

In the form illustrated, vibratory drive 629 is similar to the electricvibratory drives used in connection with the vibratory drum feeder.However, it should be understood that in alternate embodiments alternateforms of vibratory drives may be used for any of the vibratory drivesdisclosed herein (e.g., rotary vibrators, electromagnetic vibrators,piston vibrators, pneumatic vibrators, etc.). Further and as statedabove, vibratory drives may be added to any of the components ofapparatus 600 (e.g., bowl feeder, first conveyor 620 a, emitter drivemechanism 630 and inserter 640) in order to assist in transporting theelastomeric emitters through the system as desired (as will be discussedfurther below). Thus, in some forms, only the bowl feeder and inserter640 may be equipped with vibratory drives. In other forms, the bowlfeeder, conveyor 620 and guide bar 640 may all be equipped withvibratory drives. In still other forms, only the guide bar 640 or bowlfeeder may be equipped with vibratory drives. In addition, variouscomponents of the system may be mounted to a common frame that is itselfconnected to a vibratory drive to induce vibration into the connectedcomponents so that more than one vibratory drive is not needed. Forexample, the bowl feeder, conveyor 620, emitter drive mechanism 630 andguide bar 640 could all be mounted to a common frame which is itselfconnected to a vibratory drive to induce vibration throughout the system600 if desired. In other forms, other components may be connected to oneanother (but not all other components) and vibrated via a commonvibratory drive to at least reduce the number of vibratory drivesnecessary for apparatus 600.

Turning back to FIGS. 1A-3B, the apparatus 100 preferably includes anescapement 130 that includes an emitter drive mechanism, such as beltdrive 132 that grasps the emitters being fed into the escapement fromthe conveyor 120 and drives the emitters toward the guide bar 140. Asmentioned above, and best shown in FIG. 6, the escapement 130 preferablydefines a T-shaped channel that aligns with both the conveyor 120 andguide bar 140, with the lower vertical portion of the T-shaped channelbeing sized to accommodate or fit the inlet protrusion of the emitter.In a preferred form, the belt drive 132 is positioned to engage at leastthe sides of the emitter and drive the emitter through the escapement130 and into the guide bar 140. As more emitters are driven into theguide bar 140, the guide bar begins to fill-up until emitters arestacked single file and end-to-end along the guide bar 140 and into theescapement 130. Thus, advancement of an emitter will force all emittersloaded into the guide bar 140 to advance. When the guide bar 140 isfilled with emitters, advancement of another emitter through theescapement drive mechanism 132 will cause the emitter furthest from theescapement 130 on guide bar 140 to advance onto the distal end orbonding position of the guide bar 140 at which point the emitter will bebonded to the extruded tubing via the bonding mechanism or machine 150.

A controller, such as a programmable logic controller (PLC), may be usedto control the operation of the drive mechanism 132 of escapement 130 inorder to drive emitters through the escapement 130 and into and out ofguide bar 140 at predetermined and/or desired intervals and/or to ensurethat the emitters are spaced apart from one another at desired intervalsin tubing 190. In addition, optical sensors may be used in conjunctionwith the escapement 130 to ensure that a sufficient number of emittersare lined-up and ready for insertion via insertion tooling 100. Asmentioned above, in a preferred form the escapement 130 will beindependently operable separate and apart from the conveyor 120 andvibratory bowl inserter 110 so that a desired or proper number ofemitters may be maintained in each portion of the apparatus 100 at alltimes. Optical sensors may also be placed about the escapement channeland/or the guide bar assembly to ensure that a sufficient number ofemitters are present in system 100 and that the PLC controller ismaintaining the desired insertion pace and/or distance between emitters.

In the form illustrated in FIG. 6, the belt drive 132 is tapered so thata larger opening or ingress is provided where the emitter is receivedinto the escapement 130 which then tapers down to a narrower opening atthe exit or egress where the emitter leaves the escapement drivemechanism 132. Like the tapered shape of the conveyor bridge 128, thetapered shape of belt drive 132 allows the insertion tooling to accountfor misaligned emitters and/or slight variances in the alignment orpositioning of the emitters as the emitters transition from the conveyor120 to the escapement 130 and then tapers the belt to properly align theemitter for the guide bar 140. In alternate forms, the escapement 130may be provided with a drive mechanism that does not utilize such atapering feature such as that shown in FIG. 4, if desired.

In the form illustrated in FIGS. 1A-3B and 6, the belt drive 132 ofescapement 130 uses a toothed synchronous belt that is driven by motor144 and drive wheel or cog 132 a. More particularly, motor 144, such asa stepping MPL low inertia servo motor, turns a motor output shaftconnected to drive wheel 132 a in response to the controller (e.g.,PLC), which in turn drives the sprocket wheels or ribbed rollers 132 bconnected to ribbed drive wheel 132 a via belt 132 c. This causes theemitters entering escapement 130 to move through the escapement andresults in the corresponding freewheeling belt 132 d moving along withthe emitter and belt 132 c as the emitter is passed through escapement130 at the speed set by the controller and first belt 132 c. Thestepping motor 144 can be adjusted to provide for a displacement of oneemitter at a time through the escapement 130. This ensures properspacing and provides a non-slip surface between the emitter and drivebelt 132 c. Although in the form illustrated only one belt (i.e., belt132 c) is driven, it should be understood that in alternate embodimentsmotor 144 could also drive a second drive wheel connected to the secondbelt 132 d, if desired. Similarly, belt tensioning mechanisms could beprovided to adjust the tension of each belt in belt drive 132 ifdesired. For example, the apparatus 100 may be equipped to move one ofthe wheels of each belt to increase or decrease tension. In alternateforms, movable pins may be provided that the belts travel along in orderto adjust tension for each belt. In still other forms, a single beltcould be used to drive both sides of the emitter passing through anetwork of sprockets that transfer the belt from one side of theescapement 130 to the other so that the belt engages both sides ofemitters entering into the escapement 130.

While the drive mechanism of escapement 130 is positioned or orientedhorizontally and drives opposite sides of the emitters, it should beunderstood that in alternate embodiments the drive mechanism ofescapement 130 may be positioned in different orientations to drive theemitter. For example, in one alternate form, the drive mechanism couldbe rotated ninety degrees) (90°) to drive opposite top and bottomsurfaces of the emitter. Such an embodiment would likely be used inconjunction with emitters that do not have inlet protrusions, however,it is possible to use such a configuration even with emitters havinginlet protrusions. For example, two vertically oriented drive mechanismscould be positioned on opposite sides of the emitter with each drivemechanism driving a portion of the upper and lower surface of theemitter, but being spaced apart from one another sufficiently to allowfor the inlet protrusion to pass between the drive mechanisms. In otherforms, the drive mechanism may only engage a single surface of theemitter to drive the emitter toward guide bar assembly 140.

It should also be understood that alternate forms of drive mechanismsmay be used to drive the emitters via escapement 130. For example, inFIG. 7, an alternate geared system is illustrated that utilizes a stargear for driving emitters through the escapement and into and out of theguide bar at desired or predetermined intervals. In keeping with theabove practice, items depicted in this embodiment that are similar tothose discussed above will use the same latter two-digit referencenumeral but utilizing a prefix of “4” to distinguish this embodimentfrom others. In the form illustrated, conveyor 420 feeds emitters into achannel within escapement 430, which preferably has a T-shapedcross-section. As the emitters fill the channel of the escapement, acontroller such as a PLC is used to drive a gear, such as star wheel433, which has teeth positioned to drive or advance one emitter towardthe guide bar 440. As the guide bar fills, rotation of the star wheel433 eventually results in advancement of an emitter toward the guide bar140 which, in turn, forces the emitter on the guide bar 440 furthestfrom escapement 430 to be inserted into and bonded to tubing extrudedfrom extruder 460. In yet other embodiments, other forms of drivemechanism may be used such as drive wheels, shuttles, pneumatics, flatbelts, V-belts, etc.

The channels defined by conveyor bridge 128 and escapement 130 may becoated with a lubricant such as a synthetic fluoropolymer oftetrafluoroethylene, (e.g., a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) likeDuPont's TEFLON brand lubricants) in order to help move or transport theelastomeric emitter through system 100 and, specifically, conveyorbridge 128 and escapement 130. A vibratory drive could also be used(either in addition to or in lieu of the lubricant) to vibrate theescapement 130 and emitters disposed therein to at least partiallylevitate or lift the emitter and reduce the friction between the emitterand the escapement 130.

Turning back to FIGS. 1A-3B and 6, the escapement 130 is preferablymoveably between first and second positions like conveyor 120 (e.g.,moveable between a first position wherein the guide bar is insertedand/or engaged with the extruder 160 and a second position wherein theguide bar is removed or extracted from the extruder 160). In the formillustrated, the escapement 130 is connected to work surface 112 viabase 136 and slides 138 which are connected to rails 114 on work surface112. Thus, the rails 114 and slides 138 allow the escapement 130 to bemoved back and forth between the first and second positions along withconveyor 120.

In the form illustrated, the escapement 130 further includes shockabsorbers 135, 137 and a locking mechanism 139 for locking theescapement 130 in either the first or second position. The shockabsorbers 135, 137 are used to slow the base 136 of escapement 130 as itmoves toward a limit of travel so that no jarring takes place. This isparticularly important when moving the escapement into the firstposition so that the guide bar 140 enters the extruder 160 carefully andsmoothly. In the form illustrated, the lock 139 is in the form of aclasp or cam toggle clamp type fastener and is capable of locking theescapement 130 into at least the first position. This helps ensure thatthe escapement 130 and guide bar 140 do not move once the guide bar 140is inserted into the extruder 160. In alternate forms, the lock 139 maybe configured to lock the escapement 130 into both the first and secondpositions if desired.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1A-3B and 6, the apparatus 100 further includesinserter or guide bar assembly 140. In a preferred form, the guide bar140 includes an emitter channel 142 surrounded by a lower shell orshield 144 and an upper shell or shield 146. In a preferred form, thelower and upper shells are made of a polymer such as a thermoplasticPolyether ether ketone (PEEK) material and are used to shield theemitters traveling through the emitter channel 142 from the excessiveheat that is given off by the extruder 160 as the emitters pass throughthe portion of the guide bar 140 disposed within the extruder head 162.The shields 144, 146 are made of a length sufficient to cover allemitters that pass through or are positioned near the extruder 160.However, in a preferred form and as illustrated in FIGS. 2A-B, theshields 144, 146 are made even longer than necessary so that there ismore shield surface area to dissipate heat over making the shieldsoperate much like heat sinks for guide bar assembly 140.

In a preferred form, the guide bar 140 also includes a brake or brakemechanism 148 positioned downstream from the extruder 160, adjacent orproximate to the bonding mechanism 150. The brake 148 prevents emittersfrom moving into the bonding mechanism 150 until driven into the bondingmechanism for connection to the extruded tube via the escapement drivemechanism 132. Thus, the brake 148 works in conjunction with theescapement 130 to space the emitters at predetermined or desiredintervals within the extruded tube to form drip line 190 having emittersplaced at regularly spaced intervals and prevents more than one emitterfrom being released at a time for bonding with tubing 190.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, brake 148 comprises a generallyU-shaped or C-shaped bracket that extends about the emitter channel 142and has two spring levers 148 a, 148 b that extend out over the emitterchannel 142 that engage any emitter present in the emitter channel belowat least a portion of the spring levers 148 a, 148 b to prevent theemitter from moving further downstream in the emitter channel 142 unlessdriven further downstream in the emitter channel 142 via the escapementdrive mechanism 132. More particularly, when the guide bar 140 is loadedwith emitters stacked end-to-end along the emitter channel 142,advancement of another emitter via the escapement drive mechanism 132causes the emitter positioned within the brake mechanism 148 to bedriven further downstream and out of engagement with the brake mechanism148. This action causes the brake levers 148 a, 148 b to deflect upwardsto allow the emitter to move downstream and then return toward theirnormally biased position to brake or stop the next emitter in theemitter channel 142 from going further downstream in the emitter channel142 until driven by escapement 130. The clip or bracket of brakemechanism 148 in FIGS. 8 and 9 wraps around the bottom and sides of theemitter channel 142 in a curved pattern and extends partially over thetop surfaces of the emitter channel 142 in the form of flat ends. Thelevers 148 a, 148 b extend from these flat end members and out over atleast a portion of the emitter that is to be held by brake mechanism148. A protrusion, such as a bend or notch, may be formed in a portionof the levers 148 a, 148 b to extend the levers 148 a, 148 b toward theemitter if further frictional engagement is desired between the brakelevers 148 a, 148 b and the emitter to be held by brake mechanism 148.In the form illustrated, the outer surface of the emitter channel 142defines a recess or notched channel within which the brake mechanism 148is to be disposed in order to assist with positioning or alignment ofthe brake mechanism 148 on the guide bar 140.

Although a clip with spring steel levers 148 a, 148 b is shown as thebrake mechanism 148, it should be appreciated that any other brakestructure capable of retaining emitters in emitter channel 142 may beused. For example, a ball and detent mechanism may be used that providesenough friction to hold an emitter proximate to the brake mechanism 148until the escapement 130 drives the emitter further downstream and movesanother emitter into engagement with the brake mechanism 148. In otherembodiments, another form of friction fitting may be used between theemitter and the emitter channel 142 or brake mechanism 148, such asribs, textured surfaces, etc.

Turning back to FIGS. 8 and 9, the guide bar 140 preferably includes afastener, such as clamp 143, which is used to secure at least one of thelower and upper shields 144, 146 to the emitter channel 142. A basemember 141 is also positioned proximate the clamp 143 for securing oneend of the guide bar 140 and positioning same adjacent the escapement130 so that emitters traveling through tooling apparatus 100 movesmoothly from the escapement 130 to the guide bar 140. In a preferredform, the emitter channel 142 has the same cross-sectional shape (e.g.,T-shape) as the emitter channel defined by escapement 130 and defined byconveyor bridge 128. The base 141 preferably includes a horizontalportion 141 a for securing the guide bar 140 to apparatus 100 and avertical portion 141 b which anchors the emitter channel 142 to thehorizontal base portion 141 a and apparatus 100. In the form shown, thevertical member 141 b defines a circular opening through which theemitter channel 142 is disposed and held in alignment with the emitterchannel of escapement 130.

To further assist apparatus 100 in transporting elastomeric emittersthrough the insertion tooling, the guide bar 140 may be coated with asynthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene, such as apolytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) (e.g., like the DuPont Co. brand TEFLON).In addition or in lieu of the PTFE, the apparatus 100 will preferably beconnected to a vibratory drive, such as electric vibrating drive 149, sothat the guide bar 140 may be gently vibrated at a high frequency to atleast partially levitate or lift the emitters within emitter channel 142and reduce the amount of friction present between the elastomericemitters and the emitter channel 142 which, in turn, makes it easier tomove the elastomeric emitters through the emitter channel 142 of guidebar 140. In the form illustrated, the horizontal portion 141 a of guidebar base 141 is connected to vibratory drive 149 and the vibratory drive149 is connected to base 136 so that the guide bar assembly 140 remainsmoveable between the first and second positions along with theescapement 130 and conveyor 120. As mentioned above, in the firstposition the guide bar 140 is inserted or engaged with the extruder 160so that emitters can be bonded to extruded tubing via bonding mechanism150 and is removed or retracted from the extruder 160 in the secondposition. In a preferred form, the vibratory drive 149 is not operableas the guide bar 140 is moved toward the first position and insertedthrough the extruder die head 162, however, the vibratory drive 149would be setup such that even if it were operational during movement ofthe guide bar 140 toward the first position the vibration induced in theguide bar 140 and specifically the emitter channel 142 would not besufficient to risk damaging the guide bar 140 on the extruder 160 orvice versa.

In the form illustrated, vibratory drive 149 is similar to the electricvibratory drives used in connection with drum feeder 110. However, itshould be understood that in alternate embodiments alternate forms ofvibratory drives may be used for any of the vibratory drives disclosedherein (e.g., rotary vibrators, electromagnetic vibrators, pistonvibrators, pneumatic vibrators, etc.). Further and as stated above,vibratory drives may be added to any of the components of apparatus 100(e.g., bowl feeder 110, conveyor 120, escapement 130 and guide bar 140)in order to assist in transporting the elastomeric emitters through thesystem as desired. Thus, in some forms, only the bowl feeder 110 andguide bar 140 may be equipped with vibratory drives. In other forms, thebowl feeder 110, conveyor 120 and guide bar 140 may be equipped withvibratory drives. In still other forms, only the guide bar 140 or bowlfeeder 110 may be equipped with vibratory drives. In addition, variouscomponents of the system may be mounted to a common frame that is itselfconnected to a vibratory drive to induce vibration into the connectedcomponents so that more than one vibratory drive is not needed. Forexample, the bowl feeder 110, conveyor 120, escapement 130 and guide bar140 could all be mounted to a common frame which is itself connected toa vibratory drive to induce vibration throughout the system 100 ifdesired. In other forms, other components may be connected to oneanother and vibrated via a common vibratory drive to reduce the numberof vibratory drives necessary for apparatus 100.

In addition to vibratory drives, in a preferred form, guide bar 140 willinclude a system for cooling the guide bar 140 or emitters disposedtherein. FIGS. 10A-B are partial cross-section views of the guide bar140 of FIGS. 1A-3B, 6 and 8-9, taken along lines 10-10 in FIG. 1C. Inthis form, the coolant system 142 a is built into emitter channel 142and comprises conduit or piping that is either drilled into or cast intothe body of emitter channel 142. A coolant or heat transfer fluid ispassed through the conduit 142 a in order to cool emitter channel 142and/or transfer heat away from emitter channel 142 as the guide bar 140is moved into and held in the first position wherein the guide bar 140is disposed within extruder 160. In a preferred form, the emitterchannel 142 is made of a good thermal conductor so that heat transfercan readily take place throughout the guide bar 140 and within lower andupper shields 144, 146, respectively. Typically the coolant is a liquidor vapor that can readily be circulated into and out of the guide barassembly 140. In a preferred form, the system 100 will have atemperature controller and temperature sensors, such as thermocouples,that the temperature controller can use to maintain the heat within theshields 144, 146 and/or proximate emitter channel 142 at a desiredtemperature or temperature range. As temperatures build beyond a desiredthreshold, the temperature controller can circulate more coolant throughcoolant system 142 a or at a faster pace, and as temperatures lowerbelow a desired threshold, the temperature controller can circulate lesscoolant through coolant system 142 a or at a slower pace.

As best illustrated in FIG. 10B, the conduit of coolant system 142 a maybe drilled or bored into the emitter channel 142 from the front andsides of the emitter channel 142 and then plugs, such as set screws 142b, may be inserted into the bore openings to seal the conduit 142 a andleave only inlet and outlet ports 142 c, 142 d, respectively, free forfluid connection to the coolant system controlled by the temperaturecontroller. It should be understood that the temperature controllercould be configured as its own standalone control unit, or incorporatedinto the controller used in connection with any of the other componentsof system 100 (e.g., escapement PLC controller, conveyor controller,drum feeder controller, etc.).

In FIG. 11, a partial cross-sectional view is illustrated taken alonglines 11-11 in FIG. 1E, which is essentially taken through the die head162 of extruder 160. As this figure illustrates, the die head 162includes an outer housing 162 a, an extrusion element 162 b that heatsand extrudes the material being extruded, and a mandrel 162 c thatspaces the extrusion element and extruded material from the guide bar140 to prevent heat from the die head 162 from damaging the guide bar140. The mandrel 162 c tapers in shape as the extruded material movesdown stream to further assist in forming the material into tubing as thematerial approaches the bonding mechanism 150 (see FIGS. 1A-3B). Thelower and upper shields 144, 146 further assist in protecting theemitters 180 in emitter channel 142 from the heat generated by die head162. Similarly, the coolant system 142 a works to protect the emitters180 in emitter channel 142 from the heat generated by die head 162.

In the form illustrated, the guide bar assembly 140 further includes aninsert 142 e which is positioned in and makes-up at least a portion ofemitter channel 142. In this form, it is the insert 142 e that forms thechannel for the inlet protrusion of emitter 180. One benefit to usingsuch an insert is that the insertion tooling 100 can be used totransport and manufacture drip line using different types of emitters.Thus, insert 142 e may be used in conjunction with tooling 100 totransport elastomeric emitters and manufacture drip line usingelastomeric emitters of the type disclosed in U.S. Published PatentApplication No. 2013/0248616, published Sep. 26, 2013, and InternationalPatent Application Publication No. WO 2013/148672, published Oct. 3,2013. In other forms, insert 142 e may be removed and/or replaced with adifferent insert in order to manufacture self-contained emitters havinghousing members such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,648,085,issued Jan. 19, 2010, U.S. Pat. No. 8,302,887, issued Nov. 6, 2012, U.S.Published Patent Application No. 2009/0266919, published Oct. 29, 2009,and U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2009/0261183, published Oct.22, 2009, and U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2010/0282873,published Nov. 11, 2010, all of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety. In each of these embodiments, greater roomis needed in the emitter channel 142 due to the fact that additionalstructures such as housings and/or elastomeric membranes are present. Inaddition, upper shield 146 defines an upwardly extending recess 146 a toaccommodate an outlet chimney that is utilized in several of theemitters mentioned above. Thus, by allowing the guide bar 140 to beadjusted in this manner the guide bar 140 and entire system 100 may beutilized to transport and/or insert emitters of different types and/ormanufacture drip lines of different types.

It should be understood, however, that in alternate forms, the guide bar140 may be configured to transport and/or insert only one specific typeof emitter if desired, such as elastomeric emitter 180. In such a case,the guide bar assembly 140 could likely be made of smaller diameterand/or other features could be adjusted to cater specifically to thetype of emitter being inserted. For example, a single emitter channelcould be 142 formed that provides the T-shaped channel of insert 142 eand coolant system 142 a of emitter channel 142, but all integrated intoa single structure and, preferably, one that is smaller in shape. Inaddition, the recess 146 a of upper shield 146 could be eliminated and,if desired, the thickness of shields 144, 146 could be increased inorder to provide better thermal shielding of the emitters 180. Byreducing the size of guide bar assembly 140, system 100 may be madecapable of producing drip lines of smaller diameter (both inner andouter diameter) and/or drip lines with conventional diameters but withsmaller, less invasive emitters that cause less turbulence to fluidflowing through the tubing and provide less surface area for debris,such as grit, to build-up on inside the tubing.

In FIGS. 1A-3B, 6, 8-9 and 12, the apparatus 100 is illustrated with aguide bar 140 having a roller tip assembly 145. The rollers 145 allowthe emitter 180 to smoothly move out from the brake mechanism 148 and topass into position under the tractor wheel 152 of bonding mechanism 150without pinching or causing the emitter 180 to crease which couldnegatively affect the system's ability to form a solid bond between theupper surface of the emitter 180 and the inner surface of the extrudedtube. In alternate embodiments, however, other forms of tips may be usedfor guide bar assembly 140. For example, in FIGS. 13 and 14 andalternate guide bar tip is illustrated. In keeping with theabove-practice, items that are similar in this embodiment will usesimilar latter two-digit reference numerals, but include the prefix “5”.In the form illustrated, the guide bar assembly 540 includes a syntheticfluoropolymer insert of tetrafluoroethylene, such as apolytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) like the DuPont Co. brand TEFLON. ThePTFE insert 547 allows the emitter 580 to smoothly move out from thebrake mechanism of the guide bar assembly 540 and to pass into positionunder tractor wheel 552 of the bonding mechanism. The PTFE coatingreduces friction between the emitter 580 and the guide bar assembly 540.To further reduce friction between the emitter 580 and the guide barassembly 540, an additional lubricant may be added to the insert 547,such as mineral oil. The oil will enhance the sliding of the emitter 580on the guide bar 540 and, specifically, along the emitter channel andinsert 547 of guide bar 540.

Turning back to the embodiments of FIGS. 1A-3B, 6, 8-12, the apparatus100 further includes a bonding mechanism 150 for bonding the emitters180 to the extruded tubing to form drip line 190. FIG. 15 illustrates apartial cross-sectional view of the bonding mechanism 150 taken alonglines 15-15 in FIG. 1E. As illustrated in this figure, the bondingmechanism 150 utilizes tractor wheel 152 to compress the exterior of thefreshly extruded tube over the emitter 180 to bond emitter 180 to theinside of tube 190. In a preferred form, the tractor wheel 152 is madeof hardened steel and contoured to the shape of the tube so thatpressure is applied evenly over the surface of the tube 190 and constantpressure is provided on the tube 190 and emitter 180 to ensure the uppersurface of emitter 180 is bonded fully to the inside surface of tube190. The radius of contour of the tractor wheel 152 does not extendbeyond the width of the emitter 180 to reduce the risk lines will beformed in the tubing by outside edges of the tractor wheel 152 on theexterior surfaces of the extruded tube surface.

FIG. 16A illustrates another partial cross-sectional view of the bondingmechanism 150 bonding the emitter 180 to tubing 190 and is taken alonglines 16-16 in FIG. 1E. In this illustration, the tractor wheel 152 canbe seen bonding the emitter positioned on the roller tip 145 to tubing190 and a second emitter can be seen positioned within the brakemechanism 148 of guide bar assembly 140. Although not shown, the guidebar assembly 140 would be filled with emitters behind the emitter heldin brake mechanism 148. The emitters would extend end-to-end all the wayback through the escapement drive mechanism 130 so that as theescapement 130 drives another emitter forward or downstream, the nextemitter will be moved from the brake mechanism 148 and onto roller tip145 to be bonded to the extruded tubing via tractor wheel 152. In apreferred form, the bonding mechanism 150 will further define anaquarium chamber or portion 154 and calibrator 156 that the freshlybonded tube 190 and emitter 180 travel through. The bonded tube andemitter 190 is immersed in fluid, such as water, in aquarium 154 tostart cooling and the calibrator 156 is used to continue to form and/orsize the extruded tubing into the desired tubing shape and size. Thecalibrator 156 preferably includes a plurality of openings therein inorder to allow fluid to continue to contact the extruded tubing as ittravels through the calibrator 156. From there the drip line 190 travelsinto a vacuum water tank 170 followed by a water cooling tank and thenis run through a high speed perforator to make an emitter outlet openingin the finished drip line 190 and wound into spools of desired length.The vacuum water tank 170 allows the drip line 190 to cool and maintainthe desired round tubing shape without flatting under the forces ofgravity and once the drip line has cooled to a sufficient temperaturewhere exposure to the forces of gravity will not affect the shape of thedrip line 190, the tubing travels from the vacuum water tank 170 to theopen-air water tank and then on to the spooling machine.

As mentioned above, the insertion tooling 100 can be removed from theextruder 160 (see FIG. 16B) so that tubing without emitters can beextruded from extruder 160 and run through tractor wheel assembly 150,vacuum water tank and water cooling tank 170 and wound via spoolingmachine. This allows for the same line to be used to run or manufacturedrip line and regular tubing without emitters, which saves shop floorspace and improves shop usage (e.g., ability to run second and thirdshifts), thereby making for a more efficient manufacturing setup andprocess. As also mentioned above, the guide bar assembly 140 may beconfigured to allow for setup and use with multiple types of emitters ordifferent emitters so the same line can be used to manufacture multipletypes of drip line as well as regular tubing (or non-drip/emittertubing). This too saves shop floor space and improves shop usage andefficiency.

In addition to the above, method of transporting elastomeric emittersalong tooling are disclosed herein. For example, in one form such amethod comprises providing a first conveyor of a first type fortransporting elastomeric emitters along tooling and a second conveyor ofa second type, different than the first type of conveyor, for furthertransporting the elastomeric emitters along the tooling, and moving theelastomeric emitters from the first conveyor to the second conveyor totransport the elastomeric emitters further along the tooling. In otherforms, the method includes providing a vibratory drive mechanismconnected to at least one of the first and second conveyors, andvibrating the at least one of the first and second conveyors, to reducefriction between the elastomeric emitters and the tooling and urgemovement of the emitters along the tooling in a predetermined direction.In still other forms, the first conveyor may be a belt conveyor having amotor driven belt and the second conveyor may be a roller conveyor witha vibratory drive mechanism connected to the roller conveyor, and themethod further includes driving the emitters along the belt conveyor andinto the second conveyor via the motor driven belt, and rolling theemitters along the roller conveyor via the vibratory drive mechanism toalign the emitters with an emitter drive mechanism.

In some forms, the apparatus 100 may also include an inserter forinserting a root growth inhibiting member, such as a copper insert,proximate to the outlet bath of the emitter 180 to reduce the risk ofroots growing into the outlet of the emitter 180. In a preferred form,the copper insert will correspond in size and shape to the size andshape of outlet bath of emitter 180 and is, preferably, connected to thefloor of the outlet bath so that it cannot shift and block flow of fluidthrough the emitter 180 and out of the emitter outlet. In one form, thecopper insert is formed as a plate that is fixed to the bottom of theemitter outlet bath via an adhesive (e.g., glue, epoxy, resin, cement,etc.). In the form illustrated, the copper insert 846 has a generallyrectangular shape that corresponds to the shape of the emitter outletbath and defines a plurality of openings that correspond in location tothe protrusions extending up from the floor of outlet bath which preventthe outlet from collapsing under increased fluid pressure within thedrip line 190. In a preferred form, the plurality of openings defined bythe copper insert are sized so that the protrusions easily fit withinthe insert openings and the copper insert can be placed directly againstthe floor of the outlet bath of emitter 180.

It should be understood, however, that in alternate embodiments, thecopper insert may take a variety of different shapes and sizes and maybe connected or affixed to the emitter 180 in a variety of differentways. For example, with respect to size and shape, in alternate forms,the copper insert may be shaped to fit in only a portion of the outletbath of emitter 180 (e.g., filling only a portion of the outlet bathrather than the entire floor of the outlet bath) and, thus, have a shapethat does not correspond to the shape of the outlet bath of emitter 180.Thus, the copper insert may be made round, rectangular or triangular (orof any other polygonal) shape, non-polygonal in shape, and may besymmetrical or asymmetrical in shape. For example, the copper insertcould be provided in a rectangular shape that defines a single openingto allow the insert to be positioned on a single protrusion extending upfrom the emitter outlet bath, or it may define a plurality of openingsthat allow the insert to be positioned on a single row of protrusionsextending up from the outlet bath, two rows of protrusions, etc.

With respect to connection to the emitter 180, the copper insert mayalternatively be affixed to the emitter 180 by way of another form offastener besides adhesive, such as friction fit, tongue-and-groove (ormortise and tenon), screw, bolt, rivet, staple, hot weld, heat stake,pin, or other mating or interlocking structures, etc. For example, inone form, the openings defined by copper insert may be sized so thatthey create a friction or press fit engagement with the protrusionsextending up from the outlet bath of the emitter 180. In yet anotherform, the protrusions may be shaped with a section of reduced diameternear the floor of the outlet bath so that the insert is pressed downover the protrusion until positioned within the reduced diameter sectionand held in place due to the adjacent protrusion portion being slightlylarger in diameter than the opening defined by the insert to prevent theinset from lifting up from the floor of the outlet bath of emitter 180.In still other forms, it may be desired to position the copper insert upoff of the floor of the outlet bath so that fluid flows over or along atleast two sides of the insert. Thus, in one form, the openings definedby the copper insert may be sized so that insert cannot be positioneddirectly in contact with the floor of the outlet bath. In other forms,the protrusions may have a reduced diameter section positioned somewherebetween the floor of the outlet bath and the distal end of theprotrusions to capture the insert somewhere there between and spacedfrom both the floor and distal end. In embodiments where walls are usedin place of posts for the outlet protrusions, the walls may define anotch, detent, groove or channel within which the copper insert ispositioned and maintained. Alternatively, the walls may define one ormore, or even a continuous, rib or shoulder or set of ribs and shoulderswithin which the copper insert is positioned and maintained. In stillother forms, the insert may not be fastened or affixed to the emitterand may simply rest in the outlet bath.

In other forms, the root inhibitor member may be positioned in otherlocations about the emitter 180 either in addition to the outlet bath orin lieu of the outlet bath. For example, in some forms, the insert mayextend into the flow passage and/or the inlet of emitter 180. In otherforms, the root growth inhibitor member will form a sleeve punchedthrough the tubing to form a sleeve lining the outlet opening of theemitter 180 through which fluid flows, (e.g., such as a rivet or collarinserted through the tubing at the outlet bath of the emitter). In stillother forms, the root growth inhibitor may be positioned on top of theouter surface of tube 190 near the outlet opening of the emitter.

In a preferred form, the root growth inhibitor member will be installedinto the emitter outlet after the elastomeric emitter is molded andprior to the emitter being deposited into a dispensing container, suchas vibratory bowl feeder 110, along with other emitters for insertionusing tooling 100. In this preferred form, the root growth inhibitor isa copper insert or deposit that is connected to the emitter outlet viaan adhesive or friction fit/press process.

It should also be appreciated that any of the above-mentioned featureswith respect to each embodiment may be combined with one another to formalternate embodiments of the invention disclosed herein. For example,the root growth inhibiting member inserter may be used with a system 100utilizing an air conveyor 120, or with a system using a slotted conveyorbelt 220, or with a system using a conventional conveyor 320. In otherexamples, the system 100 may be setup having channels of T-shapedcross-section throughout to accommodate elastomeric emitters with inletprotrusions. Conversely, the system 100 may be setup with U-shapedchannels throughout to accommodate elastomeric emitters without inletprotrusions. In some forms, system 100 may be equipped with a beltdriven escapement 130 and in other forms the system may be equipped witha star gear drive mechanism for escapement 430.

In addition to the above embodiments, it should be understood thatvarious methods have also been disclosed herein. For example, methods oftransporting and inserting elastomeric emitters, methods of assemblingand manufacturing drip lines with elastomeric emitters and methods forcompensating for increased friction between insertion tooling andelastomeric emitters are disclosed herein. In one form, methods fortransporting and/or inserting elastomeric emitters are disclosedcomprising providing a feeder, a conveyor, an escapement and a guide barassembly and vibrating at least one of the conveyor, escapement andguide bar to reduce friction between the elastomeric emitter and theinsertion tooling. In another form, a method of inserting an elastomericemitter comprising providing an insertion mechanism, disposing theinsertion mechanism within an extruder and vibrating the insertionmechanism to reduce friction between the elastomeric emitter and theinsertion mechanism. In still other forms, methods of assembling and/ormanufacturing drip line are disclosed comprising providing an insertionmechanism, an extruder, and a bonding mechanism, and vibrating theinsertion mechanism to transport the elastomeric emitter to the bondingmechanism as the extruder extrudes tubing and bonding the emitter to theextruded tube via the bonding mechanism. In other forms, methods ofcompensating for increased friction between insertion tooling andelastomeric emitters are disclosed comprising providing insertiontooling and an elastomeric emitter and vibrating the elastomeric emitterthrough at least a portion of the insertion tooling to place theelastomeric emitter in position for bonding to extruded tubing. In stillother forms, methods of making a plurality of different drip lines usinga plurality of different emitters including an elastomeric emitter aredisclosed comprising providing an adjustable insertion tool, adjustingthe insertion tooling corresponding to a first emitter to be insertedvia same and using the insertion tooling to insert a first emitter intodrip line extruded from an extruder and bonding the emitter to the dripline to form a first type of drip line, adjusting the insertion toolingto insert a second emitter, different from the first, to be inserted viathe insertion tooling, using the insertion tooling to insert the secondemitter into drip line, and bonding the second emitter to the drip lineto form a second type of drip line off of the same insertion toolingline used to form the first type of drip line.

In addition to the above embodiments and methods it should be understoodthat these embodiments and methods may be used to produce emitters anddrip lines that allow fluid to flow at different rates for differentapplications. For example, smaller or larger flow channel cross-sectionsmay be provided, longer and shorter flow channels may be used, materialswith different Durometer readings may be used, etc. In order todistinguish these product lines, color may also be added to theembodiments and methods of manufacturing same to distinguish one productline from another. For example, one color may be used to identify anemitter or dip line that drips at a rate of one gallon per hour (1 GPH),another color may be used to identify an emitter or drip line that dripsat a rate of two gallons per hour (2 GPH), another color may be used toidentify an emitter or drip line that drips at four gallons per hour (4GPH). In addition, some colors may be used to signify the source ofwater for a particular application. For example, the color purple isoften used to indicate that reclaimed or recycled water is being used.If desired, any of the above embodiments and methods could include theaddition of color for such purposes. In addition, the insertion toolingmay be used to make drip lines with different spacing between emitters.

In addition to the above embodiments and methods, new methods andapparatus are provided herein for checking emitter bonds in anirrigation drip line, and for manufacturing drip line in a manner thatallows the bond between the in-line emitter and surrounding tubing to bechecked. For example, an exemplary production line or system formanufacturing such drip line is illustrated in FIG. 18. In keeping withthe above practices, those items that are similar to items discussed inprior embodiments will be identified using the same latter two-digitreference numeral but with the edition of the prefix “7” to distinguishthis embodiment from others. Thus, the system illustrated in FIG. 18 isidentified generally by reference numeral 700.

In a preferred form, system 700 includes a feeder or dispenser 710connected to a conveyor 720 which delivers the emitters from the feeder710 to an emitter drive mechanism, such as escapement 730. Theescapement 730 aligns and guides emitters passing through the insertiontooling system 700 into inserter or guide bar 740 for delivery to theextruder 760 and the conduit extruded by extruder 760. In a mannersimilar to that discussed above with prior embodiments, the emitter isbound to the conduit and the conduit calibrated via aquarium assembly750. From there, the conduit is passed through a first vacuum sizingtank 770 that is used to cool and size the conduit before continuing tocool the conduit in a cooling tank or bath 772. The extruded conduit ismoved through the aquarium 750 and tanks 770, 772 via a motivemechanism, such as driver or puller 773 positioned downstream of thecooling tank 772. The puller 773 engages the conduit after it has beensized and formed so that the action on the conduit will not alter thesize or shape of the conduit.

In the exemplary form illustrated, the conduit is then fed through acutter, such as an abrader or puncturing tool 774, in order to createoutlet openings in the conduit proximate to the outlet baths of theindividual emitters bonded within the conduit thereby forming finisheddrip line. It should be understood that the perforator or cutter 774 maybe any number of perforating or cutting devices, such as a punch orpuncture tool, a saw or blade type cutter, a laser cutter, a drill, etc.Unlike prior embodiments, however, and unlike conventional drip linemanufacturing systems, system 700 further includes an emitter bondtester 775 that checks the bond created between the emitter and thesurrounding conduit to ensure that the emitter will operate as desired.In a preferred form, a second motive mechanism, such as second drive orpuller 776, is used to pull the conduit through the emitter bond tester775. In addition, an automatic reel mechanism 777 is included forcoiling the conduit coming from the emitter bond tester 775 into coilsof drip line that can be removed and shipped after a predeterminedlength of conduit has been coiled about a roll.

It should be understood, however, that one or more of these items may beremoved from the line if desired. For example, in producing drip linewith discrete emitters bonded to the inner surface of an extruded tubeat regular intervals, it may be desirable to include all stages or stepsillustrated in FIG. 18. However, in alternate forms, such drip line maybe produced using fewer stages or steps or even alternate stages orsteps. For example, in some alternate embodiments, a different inserteror guide bar 740 may be used. In other forms, only one puller 773 or 776may be utilized and may be positioned forward of the coiler or realer777, rather than having another or a second puller positioned earlier orupstream in the manufacturing product line or further back or downstreamin the manufacturing product line or process. For example, in one form asystem may utilize a puller such as puller 773 and rely on the coiler777 (which may be a combination puller/coiler) to assist in collectingthe finished product. In another form, the sole puller may be positionedfar downstream of the process such as puller 776. Notwithstanding thefact the system or process may be setup in a variety of different ways,in a preferred form, the tester 775 will be positioned somewheredownstream of or on the latter half of the system or manufacturingproduct line behind the cutter or outlet opening maker/installer 774 sothat the tester 775 can test the dripline tubing itself and/or the bondbetween the drip line and the emitters.

While the illustrated examples illustrate the system being used tomanufacture and/or test drip line with discrete emitters bonded atregular intervals to only a non-circular portion of the extruded tubing(e.g., open face emitters, etc.), it should be understood that thetester 775 may be used in connection with a variety of different dripline manufacturing systems or product manufacturing lines that use anytype of emitter. For example, in one form, the tester 775 may be usedwith a system or process setup to manufacture drip tape or driplinesthat have a continuous strip of tape applied thereto that forms emittersat regular intervals of the tubing. In such forms, the system or processmay be setup similar to that of FIG. 18, or it may be configured withmore or less stages, steps or equipment in the product manufacturingline. For example, in one form, a drip tape system or process may beconfigured to leave off a feeder 710, conveyor 720, escapement 730 orguide bar 740 and possibly even the vacuum or sizing tank 770, butinstead include an installer, extruder 760, aquarium 750, cooling tank772, cutter 774, tester 775, puller and/or coiler, or a puller/coiler(not necessarily in that order). Again, one or more pullers may beutilized in such a system. One common form of drip tape system orprocess starts with a flat section of film that the continuous tapecontaining emitters is bonded to and then the film is wrapped overitself or the continuous tape to form tubing. In yet other form of driptape systems or processes, the system or process starts with a film thatthen has flow passages pressed, stamped or embossed into or on a surfaceof same and then the film is wrapped to enclose the flow passages andform emitters spaced at regular intervals (thus no separate continuoustape is added, but rather is formed into a surface of the tubing). Inthese forms, the product manufacturing line does not need all of theequipment illustrated in FIG. 18 and the emitter bond tester 775 may bepositioned anywhere in the product manufacturing line, but preferablywill be located between the cuter 774 and reeler or coiler 776.

In another example, the tester 775 may be used in a systems setup tomanufacture drip line with conventional cylindrical emitters inserted atregular intervals therein which could be setup similar to the system orprocess of FIG. 18, but with fewer or more stages, steps or equipment inthe manufacturing process. For example, such systems, could be setupsimilar to what is depicted in FIG. 18, but use different feeders,conveyors, escapements and guide bars or inserter mechanisms that aremore suited to conventional cylindrical emitters to deliver and insertthe cylindrical emitters into extruded tubing. In some forms, suchsystems will have the remaining components shown in FIG. 18 (e.g., anextruder, first vacuum sizing or cooling tank, second cooling tank,cutter or perforating device, emitter bond tester and puller/coiler). Inother forms, a second puller may be used, other components may becombined such as by using a combination puller/coiler or reeler, etc.

Thus, it should be understood that any of the emitter drip line productmanufacturing lines mentioned above (e.g., flat or open face emitterlines, cylindrical emitter lines, drip tape lines, etc.) may be equippedwith an emitter bond tester as disclosed herein. In addition, any ofthese product manufacturing lines may be equipped with one or morecontrollers that control emitter insertion spacing, line speed, maintainfluid levels and constant vacuum pressure in tanks, and that monitor andreact when the emitter bond tester detects a poorly bondedemitter/conduit section in the drip line. For example, in some forms thecontroller may mark the tubing with indicia that the coiler can detectand remove from the coiled drip line. In other forms, a separate pieceof equipment may be used to perform this function. In still other forms,the timing or pace of the manufacturing line may be so well maintainedthat the conduit does not need to be marked to identify the poorlybonded emitter and can simply remove the section with the poorly bondedemitter by tracking the timing it takes to get from the tester to thepiece of equipment that is tasked with removing the poorly bondedemitter. In lieu of removing the poorly bonded emitter, the tubing maysimply be marked with indicia to indicate a defective emitter bond ispresent and this marking is used later on to identify the poorly bondedemitter section for removal if desired. In some forms, the productmanufacturing line may be setup to remove the section containing thepoorly bonded emitter and rejoin the two separated ends between whichthe poorly bonded emitter section was connected via a connector, such asa barbed fitting or coupler, so that the drip line halves may berejoined and coiled or reeled into a predetermined length of continuousdrip line and sold (e.g., such as coils of drip line of fifty feet(50′), one hundred feet (100′), two hundred fifty feet (250′), threehundred feet (300′), three hundred thirty feet (330′), five hundred feet(500′) and one thousand feet (1000′)).

In addition, some features may be combined into a single fixture orstage rather than being provided as separate items in the assembly line.For example, in the form illustrated, the vacuum sizing tank 770 andcooling tank 700 are illustrated as two separate tanks. In alternateembodiments, however, the vacuum sizing tank 770 and cooling tank 772may be configured as a single or common tank that is either entirely rununder reduced or negative pressure as compared to the outer ambientpressure. Alternatively, if desired, a common tank may be used for boththe vacuum sizing tank 770 and cooling tank 772 but be divided up intothese sections to reduce the portion of system that must be run atvacuum or reduced pressures.

As mentioned above, however, in a preferred form and as illustrated inFIG. 18, the vacuum sizing tank 770 and cooling tank 772 are separatefixtures in the manufacturing line. The vacuum sizing tank 770 has anenclosed chamber or vacuum chamber that reduces the pressure within thevacuum chamber below the atmospheric pressure that exists outside thetester 770 (e.g., negative pressure). The cooling tank 700, ispreferably open on top and, thus, subjected to ambient pressure.

During operation, the extruded conduit or tubing is pulled through thetanks 770, 772 to form and cool the conduit, respectively, perforatedvia cutter 774 and then inspected via the emitter bond tester 775 toconfirm that the emitters are sufficiently bonded to the conduit 790 inorder to allow the emitters and drip line to function properly. Anexemplary embodiment of the emitter bond tester 775 is illustrated inFIGS. 19A-H. As illustrated in these drawings, the tester 775 includes ahousing 775 a defining a vacuum chamber 775 b capable of storing fluidwithin the chamber 775 b for submersing the drip line 790 within a fluidmedium. The housing 775 a defines a first inlet opening 775 c and firstseal 775 d between the tester 775 and conduit 790 passing through thetester 775, and a second outlet opening 775 e and second seal 775 fbetween the tester 775 and conduit 790 passing through the tester 775.Water sealed chambers 775 g, 775 h are positioned on each end of thevacuum chamber 775 b in order to allow the center portion of the housing775 b to more efficiently reach a vacuum condition. In the formillustrated, the vacuum chamber 775 b and chambers 775 g, 775 h arefilled approximately two thirds of the way full with liquid, such aswater.

As best illustrated in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 19D, the tester775 further includes guides 775 i, 775 j for stabilizing and guiding theconduit 790 as it moves through tester 775. An optional air knife blowoff may also be included at the exit end of the tester 775 if desired.In the form illustrated, vacuum and water pumps 775 k, 775 l are locatedbelow the housing 775 a and at least partially within the base or stand775 m. In addition, first and second drip trays 775 n, 775 o arepositioned proximate the inlet opening 775 c and outlet opening 775 d,respectively, to collect excess water. The drip trays 775 n, 775 oinclude drains to allow the recaptured water to be recirculated for usewith the tester 775 or elsewhere in the manufacturing line if desired.

In a preferred form, the tester 775 further includes at least one of awindow, monitor or display, meter and camera for monitoring air escapingfrom outlet passages in the conduit 790 to detect excessive amounts ofair which occurs with a poorly bonded emitter. More particularly, whenthe conduit 790 is run through the fluid filled vacuum chamber 790 b,air is drawing through the emitter producing bubbles in the water. Anyvoids or poorly bonded areas of the emitter will be detectable by thequantity and size of the bubbles escaping from the emitter and conduit790. If voids or faulty bonding is present, additional air will be drawnthrough the emitter thereby creating more bubbles. If these voids orpoorly bonded emitters are allowed to remain in the drip line, the dripline will squirt water from the conduit at these points when put intouse in the field and causing one area to receive much more water orfluid from the conduit than the remaining emitters in the drip line thatare working properly. Thus, it is important to remove poorly bondedemitters so that the drip line works as intended and desired (i.e., witheach emitter trickling or dripping a comparable amount of fluid out tothe area surrounding the drip line.

In the form illustrated, the tester 775 includes windows 775 p onopposite sides of housing 775 a, which an operator may use to inspectbubbles escaping from emitter outlet passages in the conduit 790 as theconduit passes through the tester 775. In practice, however, it isdesired to run the tubing 790 through the tester 775 at high rates ofspeed (e.g., 180 feet/minute, 300 feet/minute, or faster), thus, in apreferred form the tester will utilize an automated sensor formonitoring the amount of air or bubbles escaping from the conduit 790 inorder to perform a consistent check that is capable of keeping up withsuch speeds. In the form illustrated, the tester 775 uses a flow meter775 q and collection cone 775 r to deliver the air bubbles to the flowmeter and measure the air escaping from each emitter outlet of theconduit 790. As an example, Alicat Scientific, Whisper Series Mass FlowMeter, Model 0-1 SLPM may be used for such a sensor.

When excessive air or bubbles are detected by the flow meter sensor 775q, the tester 775 will be programmed to shut off the reel or coiler 777that coils the drip line 790. The tester 775 will also either cause theportion of the tubing with the poor emitter bond to be marked for laterremoval or activate a cutter for cutting this portion of the tubing orconduit from the drip line immediately at that time. While this istaking place, the tester 775 continues to draw drip line through thetester 775 so that the extrusion process 760 and the cutting orperforating process 774 do not have to be shutdown. Once the portion oftubing or conduit with the poor emitter bond is removed, the free endsof the drip line are reconnected to one another using a coupling, suchas a straight coupling with barbed ends. Once the ends of the drip lineare rejoined via the coupling, the reel or coiler 777 is reactivatedallowing the drip line to continue being coiled.

In alternate embodiments, the tester 775 may be equipped with a camerafor measuring the air or bubbles escaping from the outlets of theconduit 790 either in lieu of the flow meter 775 q or in addition to theflow meter 775 q. For example, a high resolution camera, such as theCognex, In-Site 7402 model high resolution series vision system could beused for this purpose. In one form, a camera equipped tester 775 willalso include a display (e.g., monitor, screen, etc.) that allows thecamera's picture to be viewed either on a real time basis or in recallmode to illustrate the bubble image that led to a defective bond beingdetected.

Thus, tester 775 forms a bubble leak detection system that can identifyif emitters are properly bonded to the inner surface of the conduit sothat the finished product operates as intended (i.e., drip line withemitters that trickle fluid out at a generally constant flow rate so theareas surrounding each emitter receive comparable amounts of fluid).While, vacuum tanks or bubble leak detectors have been used in the pastto test the integrity of extruded conduit to make sure it is free ofleaks, none have been used in the manner disclosed herein to detect thesufficiency of the bond between conduit and in-line emitters. Rather,prior bubble leak detectors would be positioned upstream in themanufacturing process before perforators cut outlet openings in theconduit instead of being utilized downstream after the first puller 773and/or cutter 774 as is disclosed herein. An additional vacuum or bubbleleak tester could be added upstream in the current system 700, ifdesired, in order to also check the extruded conduit for leaks, however,this would be an optional feature.

Turning back to the embodiment of FIGS. 18-19H, the emitter bond tester775 includes a controller 775 s that monitors the bubble detectionsensor 775 q and takes the action discussed above when a faulty emitterbond is detected. It should be understood, however, that the tester 775may either include its own controller or be connected to an existingcontroller in place in the manufacturing line (e.g., a master linecontroller, a logic controller for a nearby piece of equipment such asthe pullers 773, 776, cutter 774, etc.). In a preferred form, thecontroller 775 s will be local to the tester 775 and include anemergency shutoff switch as well in case the tester 775 needs to beshutdown. However, the controller could be placed elsewhere in theproduct line (e.g., connected to other equipment or freestanding) oroperate remote from the product manufacturing line via a network, (e.g.,LAN, WAN such as the Internet, etc.) and may be hard-wired to theequipment or wirelessly connected via wireless communication modules(e.g., Wi-Fi, Cellular, Bluetooth, RFID, NFC modules, etc.).

To further assist the tester 775 in detecting small leaks or low leakrates from the conduit or tubing 790, the tester may also be setup tocreate a pressure differential between the exterior or outside of thetapered guide (e.g., inverted funnel or collection cone 775 r) and theinterior or inside of the tapered guide 775 r so that air escaping fromthe conduit 790 is directed toward the flow meter 775 q. In one form,this pressure differential is created by keeping the level of the fluidoutside of the tapered guide or cone 775 r higher than the level of thefluid inside of the tapered guide or cone 775 r. For example, in FIGS.19C and 19D, a first fluid level of the fluid on the exterior of thetapered guide or cone 775 r is illustrated and referenced by referencenumeral 775 t and a second fluid level of the fluid in the interior ofthe tapered guide or cone 775 r is illustrated and referenced byreference numeral 775 u. The first fluid level 775 t and second fluidlevel 775 u are different from one another and this difference in fluidlevel creates a pressure differential that urges escaped air fromconduit 790 to flow up toward flow meter 775 q.

Thus, an emitter bond tester 775 is illustrated for testing the bondbetween an emitter and a surrounding conduit to which the emitter isbonded to form drip line. In the form illustrated, the tester 775includes a housing 775 a defining a vacuum tank 775 b capable of storingfluid within the tank. The housing 775 a has first inlet opening 775 cthat forms a first seal 775 d between the tester 775 and conduit 790passing through the tester 775 and a second outlet opening 775 e thatforms a second seal 775 f between the tester 775 and conduit 790 passingthrough the tester. A sensor, such as flow meter 775 q, for detectingair bubbles or air leaks from the conduit 790 is illustrated connectedto the housing 775 a and having a guide 775 r positioned at least inpart within the fluid of the tank 775 b and proximate the conduit 790 tocapture air escaping from the conduit 790 to assist the flow meter 775 qin detecting leaks. In a preferred form, tester 775 also includes acontroller in communication with the flow meter 775 q which isprogrammed to identify a poor bond between the emitter and conduit basedon leaks detected by the flow meter or data provided by the flow meter775 q. In one form, the flow meter 775 q is used to detect a leak rateof any air escaping from the conduit 790 and the controller identifiespoor bonds based on leak rates at or above a predetermined threshold.

This configuration could be setup so that the detection of any airleakage signifies a poor emitter/conduit bond. Alternatively, it couldbe setup to allow for some leakage if the amount of air detected is notdeemed sufficient to signify a bad bond between emitter and itssurrounding conduit. For example, in some forms, the predeterminedthreshold for determining if a poor bond is present may be determinedbased on at least one of a size of the conduit being tested (e.g., innerdiameter of tubing, tubing wall thickness, etc.), a size of the emitterbonded to the conduit, and/or a flow rate of the emitter bonded to theconduit.

In a preferred form, the controller is programmed to take some actiononce a faulty bond is detected between an emitter and the conduit. Asmentioned above, this action could be to simply stop the productmanufacturing line to correct the problem (e.g., remove the section oftubing or conduit with the poorly bonded emitter, mark the section forlater removal, remove the section and reconnect the free ends of theline with a barbed coupler fitting, instruct the coiler to remove thesection of tubing or conduit with the poorly bonded emitter, etc.).

In a preferred form, software or a non-transitory computer readablemedium with computer executable instructions stored thereon executed bya processor is provided and run by the controller to perform the abovementioned methods of checking the bond between the emitter andsurrounding conduit to which the emitter is bonded in the product ion orto form drip line. For example, in one form, the method includesmonitoring a sensor positioned proximate the conduit for air escapingfrom the conduit, identifying a poor bond between the emitter andsurrounding conduit when the air escaping from the conduit is at orabove a predetermined threshold, and taking corrective action inresponse to an identified poor bond to prevent said poorly bondedemitter from remaining in finished drip line in a present state. If thesensor is a flow meter, the method of monitoring the sensor may includemonitoring the flow meter to detect air escaping form the conduit. In apreferred form, the flow meter will have a tapered guide for directingair escaping from the conduit toward the flow meter, and the method willinclude disposing at least a portion of the tapered guide and theconduit into a fluid and creating a pressure differential between aninterior of the tapered guide and an exterior of the tapered guide toassist in directing escaped air toward the flow meter so that smallleaks may be detected.

In addition to the above-mentioned embodiments, it should be appreciatedthat several methods are also disclosed herein. For example, methods forchecking the bond between an emitter and surrounding conduit isdisclosed herein, as is a method for manufacturing drip line having suchan emitter bond tester. A method of assembling a drip line is disclosed,as are methods for detecting defective emitters or leaks. It should beunderstood that these method and apparatus for checking emitter bondsmay be used for any in-line emitters, not just elastomeric emitters.

Many different embodiments and methods have been provided herein, thus,it should be understood that the following claims are not exhaustive andthat many more alternate embodiments and methods in accordance with thedisclosure set forth herein are contemplated in the appended claims. Forexample, of the numerous different concepts discussed, it should beunderstood that alternate embodiments are contemplated that utilize anyone of these concepts on their own or combine, mix or match any numberof these concepts in different ways.

Thus it is apparent that there has been provided, in accordance with theinvention, apparatus for transporting and/or inserting elastomericemitters, apparatus for manufacturing and assembling drip line usingelastomeric emitters and methods relating to same that fully satisfy theobjects, aims, and advantages set forth above. While the invention hasbeen described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it isevident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will beapparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoingdescription. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all suchalternatives, modifications, and variations as fall within the spiritand broad scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for checking the bond between an emitterand a surrounding conduit comprising: providing an emitter bond testerhaving a fluid chamber filled at least partially with fluid, an inletand an outlet through which an irrigation drip line tubing passes, thetubing having at least one emitter bonded therein with an outlet openingin the tubing positioned proximate an outlet of the emitter, at least aportion of the tubing traveling below a surface of the fluid and theemitter bond tester further including at least one display, meter orcamera; passing the drip line through the emitter bond tester todetermine if a problem exists with the bond between the emitter and thetubing; and monitoring, with the at least one display, meter or camera,air escaping from the outlet opening in the tubing to detect air bubblesat or above a predetermined threshold indicating a problem exists withthe bond between the emitter and the tubing.
 2. The method of claim 1wherein the emitter bond tester fluid chamber is a vacuum chamber, andpassing the drip line through the emitter bond tester comprises passingthe drip line tubing through the inlet and outlet of the emitter bondtester submerged below the surface of the fluid and monitoring airescaping from the outlet opening of the tubing comprises using airbubbles drawn at least in part from the outlet opening in the tubing viathe vacuum chamber of the emitter bond tester to detect excessiveamounts of air bubbles at or above a predetermined threshold associatedwith an emitter that is poorly bonded to the drip line tubing.
 3. Themethod of claim 2 wherein the at least one of a display, meter or cameraincludes a flow meter and/or camera for detecting the amount of airbubbles drawn from the outlet opening in the tubing and the emitter bondtester further includes a controller connected to the flow meter and/orcamera and the method further comprises taking action via the controllerwhen the flow meter and/or camera detect excessive amounts of airbubbles at or above the predetermined threshold.
 4. The method of claim3 wherein taking action via the controller comprises performing at leastone of the steps of shutting off a reel mechanism coiling the drip linetubing coming from the emitter bond tester, marking a portion of thedrip line tubing containing the emitter associated with the excessiveamounts of air bubbles at or above the predetermined threshold, and/orcutting off the portion of the drip line tubing containing the emitterassociated with the excessive amounts of air bubbles at or above thepredetermined threshold.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein the drip linetubing includes a plurality of emitters bonded therein with each emitterhaving an outlet and an outlet opening in the tubing proximate theemitter outlet and the method further comprises using the flow meter tocollect the air bubbles escaping from the outlet openings in the tubingand having the controller utilize data provided by the flow meter todetermine if excessive amounts of air bubbles at or above thepredetermined threshold have been detected and taking action wheneverexcessive amounts of air bubbles at or above the predetermined thresholdare detected.
 6. A method of detecting poorly bonded emitters during themanufacture of drip line comprising: providing a system formanufacturing drip line having an extruder for extruding drip linetubing, an emitter inserter for inserting emitters into the extrudeddrip line tubing, a bonding mechanism for bonding the emitter to theextruded drip line tubing, a perforator for forming outlet openings inthe drip line tubing proximate an outlet of each emitter and a coilerfor coiling the drip line tubing into reels or coils of drip linetubing; positioning an emitter bond tester in the system downstream ofthe perforator; and via the emitter bond tester, detecting excessive airbubbles escaping from an outlet opening at or above a predeterminedthreshold associated with an emitter that is poorly bonded to the dripline tubing and taking action to prevent a portion of the drip linetubing containing the emitter associated with the excessive air bubblesat or above the predetermined threshold from shipping.
 7. The method ofclaim 6 wherein the emitter bond tester comprises a vacuum tank with aninlet positioned on a first side and an outlet positioned on a secondside opposite the first side, the tank filled at least in part withfluid, and the emitter bond tester further including a meter and/orcamera for monitoring air escaping from the outlet openings of thetubing, the method further comprising: rapidly passing the drip linetubing through the emitter bond tester, in the inlet and out the outlet,such that at least a portion of the drip line tubing is submersed in thefluid; and monitoring the outlet openings via the meter and/or camera todetect excessive air bubbles at or above the predetermined threshold. 8.The method of claim 7 wherein the meter is a flow meter for detectingthe amount of air escaping from the outlet openings and the emitter bondtester includes a controller in communication with the flow meter andthe method further comprises using the controller to determine when theamount of air detected by the flow meter constitutes an excessive amountof air at or above the predetermined level and taking action when anexcessive amount of air is detected at or above the predetermined level.9. A method for checking the bond between an emitter and surroundingconduit comprising: providing a drip line manufacturing assembly linehaving an extruder, an emitter bonding mechanism for bonding emitters toconduit extruded by the extruder to form drip line, a first upstreamvacuum tank for sizing the drip line, a cooling tank for cooling thedrip line, a puncturing mechanism for creating emitter outlet openingsin the drip line, and a second downstream vacuum tank for monitoring airbubbles escaping from the outlet openings, wherein the second downstreamvacuum tank is installed downstream of the puncturing mechanism; andmonitoring air bubbles escaping from the outlet openings via the seconddownstream vacuum tank to check the bond between the emitter andsurrounding conduit, wherein monitoring air bubbles comprises detectingair bubbles at or above a predetermined threshold escaping from theoutlet opening indicative of a problem with the bond between the emitterand surrounding conduit.
 10. The method of claim 9 wherein monitoringair bubbles comprises detecting excessive air bubbles at or above thepredetermined level escaping from the outlet opening indicative of aproblem with the bond between the emitter and surrounding conduit. 11.The method of claim 10 further comprising: providing a controller and acoiler for coiling the drip line in the drip line manufacturing assemblyline; and using the controller to shut off the coiler when excessive airbubbles at or above the predetermined level are detected at the seconddownstream vacuum tank.